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goblinscribe's review
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book didn't age super well. It's got some pretty dark suicidal themes and a bit of transphobia in it, and parts of it are kind of a slog to get through. It feels like it depicts lesbianism as a curse, which is sad. However, it also makes sure to show lesbianism as something that people are born with that isn't contagious. It doesn't portray lesbians as predatory women who go around corrupting other women. For the time, I'm sure this was a very forward thinking concept.
pennepasta's review
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
yeahdeadslow's review
4.0
If I have done my html correctly, hopefully above you can see the cover of a pulp publishing of this novel. I had seen the picture on the cover a couple times, without any context, and I thought it was beautiful. When finally one day I saw it associated with a book, I knew I had to read it, so I was overjoyed to find it for cheap on kindle. (Though, of course, with a generic cover. Sigh.)
In this story, I was expecting... well, tragedy... and I got that, yes. But also I got to spend hours with the main character Metta, who I found to be an interesting and sympathetic character who I often identified with. (I've got a lot of pages bookmarked to write down quotes.) Though there were some familiar tropes you'd find in lesbian novels of this sort, they didn't feel overdone. That paired with fresh elements and incisive writing made for a compelling read.
From what I can gather, this novel was originally published in 1919. That predates even the mother of lesbian novels: The Well of Loneliness! I am SO curious to know more about The Scorpion and its author. It's been very hard to find information on either.
I just found out there is a sequel to this book called The Outcast, and I'm so afraid the story will end badly for Metta. I was surprised at the relative hopefulness of this book's ending... I shall keep my fingers crossed!
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